Goodvibes

Jack we may be less civilized but you should see the quality of our curtains. No sign of fading!

I'm hoping to get to the game. I'll share some thoughts when I get back near a computer on Saturday night.

Demonland, please accept my apology for starting this thread. Clearly I didn't think this through. The BBO/stuie stuff was not quite what I had in mind. I know there's plenty of kids on this site and they didn't need to read the last few posts. Put simply, I fear for the children. I'm glad the threat of bigfooty seems to have done the trick and the behaviour of posters today seems to have been pretty good!

I've never been rabid. Might give it a try.

Sorry I should have edited the above. I'd like to see BH and anyone fight the same battle.

I'm a little worried about Demonland. It's always been an emotional roller-coaster ride with an eclectic group of passionate posters but it seems the sniping and abuse is at an all time high. We need to remember we're on the same side. I'm proposing a pre-season camp. Over the next week I'd like to see everyone take a little trip over to bigfooty. I'd like to see everybody rally together to take on all comers. I'd like to see us band together to show the footyballing world that we are indeed as feral as Caroline Wilson would have her readers believe. I'd like to see BH and TimD fight the same battle. I'd like to see threads coming to a close because opposition supporters feel outnumbered and out-argued. Pre-season camp sign on is below:

I "liked" this just so I could "unlike" it!

Round 1 2012: Backs Joel Macdonald James Frawley Clint Bartram Half backs Rohan Bail Jared Rivers Colin Garland Centreline Jack Watts Jack Grimes Nathan Jones Half forwards Jack Trengove Brad Green Jeremy Howe Forwards Aaron Davey Mitchell Clark Stefan Martin Followers Mark Jamar Brent Moloney James Magner Interchange Matthew Bate Sam Blease Jordie McKenzie Josh Tynan Emergencies Thomas Couch Lynden Dunn James Sellar So many poor kicks in that line-up. Toumpas, Strauss, Viney, Byrnes and Rodan should improve our skill level straight away. Dawes should be an upgrade on Martin. Be interesting to see how many keep their spots 12 months on. It looks like 50% of the team could be different.

Looking forward, it's often too simplistic to simply say our defence looks solid, forward line has potential and our midfield is third world. I think we need to break things up a little more. I think our tall backs and tall forwards place us in the 'A' range compared to other teams. Clark, Dawes, Pedersen/Sellar and Howe read well. So too do Frawley, McDonald, Garland, Watts and Gillies. Our small/medium defenders are probably in the 'C' range and our small forwards probably a 'C+' after the Rodan/Byrnes inclusions. Our inside midfielders are probably 'C+' standard with Viney added this year and our outside midfielders probably rate at a 'D'. Blease obviously needs to spend more time up the ground and Toumpas will take time. Our strengths and weaknesses are very clear. Whilst our deficiencies are obvious, steps have been taken to erradicate those issues. Sadly, more patience is required. Most pleasingly, however, is that we're playing a gamestyle that appears to be understood by the players and when their energy levels are high we've received a real insight into the future and hopefully into the type of team we'll be when our midfield group improve. I want people to associate hard tackling and high intensity pressure with our brand of footy. I want them to fear our tall forward line and respect our midfield in the same way the Swans are regarded for their combative attitude. I can't see our midfield getting to the 'A' grade stage but a deep midfield full of strong, disciplined, hardworking runners might just be enough given the tall timber we have at either end of the park. I'll be disappointed if we don't finish in the 8 - 12 region.

You're getting boring. Talk some footy.

FB: Watts, Frawley, Jetta CHB: Grimes, McDonald, Strauss C: Blease, Jones, Rodan CHF: Howe, Dawes, Byrnes FF: Davey, Clark, Pedersen FOLL: Jamar, McKenzie, Viney INT: Toumpas, Evans, Kent SUB: Sylvia EMER: Tapscott, Sellar, Nicholson I'm working on the basis that Blease and Clark will be right and Trengove will take a little longer. Grimes for me is better back than on the ball. I've hoped that he'd be able to become an A-/B+ midfielder to add to our rotation but I'm not sure he'll get there. Down back though he reads the play well, is brave third up and usually makes good decisions. I'm going to hang tough with Pederson. Someone on Demonland has to. I think he'll imporove. Sylvia is lucky to make the team. I'd make a statement to him first up and let him no he's a borderline selection in the eyes of the footy Dept right now. I'm giving Davey a chance to prove he's still up to it but I'm not convinced. I've lost patience with Garland and I'm not a fan of Dunn. I quite like my back six. It's versatile and possesses two elite kickers (Watts and Strauss) and one who's pretty good (Grimes). It also has the potential to offer some quality rebound. If Clark gets up, our forward 6 looks well balanced and extremely potent particularly if Byrnes and Davey fire. The young guns (Viney, Toumpas and Kent) all get a chance in my round 1 team. They're the future and their pre-season form (thus far) warrants selection. I'm also an Evans fan and have him ahead of Magner, Couch, Jones and the injured Bail. Nicholson is unlucky and Terlich will no doubt be given chances sooner rather than later.

Really says alot about our midfield over the past 15 years that we have to go all the way back to Viney, Lovett and Tingay for some quality and even those three had their obvious deficiencies. Our current team needs elite midfielders and I'm like everyone else here - I'd pick a 1994 Ox. Says a bit doesn't it. Toumpas and Viney - the pressure is on!

Also from the AFL website: INJURIES Melbourne: Nil

James Sellar. Goal machine.

I'm really looking forward to the day when we're fighting over who is the toughest player in the team and not the softest.

We learnt that next time we debut a key position player in their teens we're going to make sure they weigh 100kgs.

KOTD

Do you want me to name names?

The Caroline Wilson saga appears to be drawing to its ugly conclusion and after a torrid seven month investigation it appears that the Australian Journalists’ Association will treat the Chief Football Writer of ‘The Age’ leniently. Whilst the actual charges have been the subject of wild speculation, it is believed Wilson has been handed a ‘please explain’ from the AJA regarding her failure to, “report and interpret honestly” and her perceived reliance on providing her readers with “distorted emphasis”. Most alarmingly for Wilson was the potential for the AJA to charge her under sub-section 18 of the Code of Ethics that alludes to the importance of “respecting all persons’ right to a fair trial.” Wilson’s persecution of the Melbourne Football Club throughout 2012 and 2013 was viewed by many as a sensationalist witch hunt. At best, Wilson has abused her lofty position at the once great flagship of Australian Sports journalism, ‘The Age’ by masquerading fanciful, unsubstantiated conjecture as fact. At worst, history will judge her as the chief perpetrator of horrific crimes against the code of journalism ethics in this country. It is understood that Wilson may have to serve a small suspension from her duties at The Age, but disturbingly her face will still be seen on television. Age Insiders have spoken of a growing discontent amongst staff regarding the policies and procedures The Chief Football Writer has enforced upon her underlings. Wilson conducts many of her ‘informal’ staff meetings around the office water cooler. Sources close to the water cooler have revealed that great pressure was placed on junior and cadet journalists to deliberately sensationalize articles and invent a series of un-named sources in a bid to sell more newspapers and increase their dwindling online readership. The Wilson saga first reached the headlines when former Age journalist, Andrew Rule jumped ship to crosstown rivals, The Herald Sun. Demonland understands that Rule took exception to the ‘sell newspapers at all costs’ mantra that emanated from the Football Department. “Blind Freddie could see what was going on”, he mused. “Making money was too great a carrot and journalistic standards were an inevitable victim”. Rule feels strongly that the AJA should throw the book at Wilson. “She’s the Chief Football Writer. The buck stops with her. She’s brought sports journalism into disrepute. The AJA needs to make a statement. Wilson must go.” Wilson sympathizer, Dwayne Russell, predictably defended the once respected journalist. “It’s not Caroline’s fault. She’s purely a product of the industry. Modern footy journalism demands results and Caroline simply manipulated the code to her advantage”. It’s understood Wilson, who has failed to return Demonland calls, feels victimized by the attention she has received. In a rare interview granted in January, Wilson exclaimed, “Have you seen the fanciful crap Robbo gets away with at the HUN? Have you ever listened to the torrent of [censored] that flows from Greg Denham’s mouth?” Whilst Wilson may be correct when she points the finger at others for their dubious journalistic standards, it is clear that she took the sensationalism to a whole new level. Greg Hywood, Fairfax Media Chief Executive, has been consistent in his stance that sensationalism in football journalism simply doesn’t exist. “We’re in the news breaking and news reporting business. We don’t just make stuff up and we don’t sensationalize”. Hywood was adamant, however, that if charges of lying, bias or sensationalism were founded, heads would roll. Respected ‘Sportsnewsfirst’ writer, Kim Hagdorn said it would be a sad day for his industry if Wilson was to be made a scapegoat. “She’s been a massive role-model for me. She’s a maverick. She was the first footy journo to really blur the lines between fact and fiction. Her influence on the next generation of football journos should never be underestimated”. If as expected, Wilson receives a watered downed punishment, the world of football journalism will be the real losers. An opportunity existed for those who claim to have the best interests of the industry at their heart to make a statement. A line in the sand could have been drawn where the industry said enough is enough but instead a red rag has been waved in the faces of the bulls within every newspaper’s football department. Carte blanche has been given to footy journalists throughout Australia to continue to dine out on a culture of deliberate falsehoods, blatant exaggeration, dubious source-driven innuendo and opinionative drivel.

Dwayne Russell and Caro in the same segment. If Denham was given an opportunity to stick the knife in, it would have been the closest thing to radio hell this Demon has heard. That was nails down the chalkboard stuff.

Ummmmmm, we did.

I've got a feeling you might make that same joke every year Jack!

I can't remember posting for a month. This whole saga has taken a heavy toll. Please tell me it's going to be over today.

426, 186 and now Cooked (for players about to be de-listed) seem destined to become part of the secret Demonland code.

My three year old can now sing all of 'Grand Old Flag' and does so regularly without prompting. That's pretty exciting. Considerable work behind my wife's back went into the process of indoctrination.